"With the help of certified construction workers, I believe we can improve the quality of our construction, similar to Japan and Germany," Jokowi said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has stated that Indonesian construction workers, after being bestowed with certificates of expertise, are expected to show improvement in quality as those of Japanese and Germans.

He made the remarks during the opening session of the acceleration of construction labor certification in Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, on Thursday.

"With the help of certified construction workers, I believe we can improve the quality of our construction, similar to Japan and Germany," he noted.

The efforts to improve the quality of construction workers not only rely on the internationally recognized certification but also on the adaption to technological advances.

As Indonesia enters the era of global competition, it must be able to improve its infrastructure development to be able to compete with other countries, he explained.

"(Infrastructure) is the key to foundation. Unless there is an improvement in our infrastructure development, we cannot dream of winning the global competition," Jokowi emphasized.

Jokowi revealed that the realization of infrastructure development has reached almost 60 percent during three years of his leadership.

This year marks the acceleration for the infrastructure projects by changing the development paradigm from Java-centric to Indonesia-centric.

Several infrastructure projects spread across various regions of Indonesia include 24 projects in Kalimantan; 27 projects in Sulawesi; and 13 projects, such as dams, airports, ports, as well as power plants, in Maluku and Papua.

Jokowi believed that the benefit of these projects can be achieved by next year.

"We have to work hard to accelerate the development. All infrastructures that people need would not be readily available. There should be greater contribution from the skilled and certified construction workers," he remarked.

Currently, Indonesia has 7 million construction workers, and only 9 percent, or 600 thousand, of them are certified.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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